A bill requiring states to set up licensing procedures for radiologic technologists was introduced September 25 in the U.S. House of Representatives.
H.R. 5274, known as the Consumer Assurance of Radiologic Excellence (CARE) Act, calls on the U.S. government to establish educational and credentialing standards for personnel who provide radiation therapy and perform all types of medical imaging procedures except ultrasound.
The bill's principal sponsor, Rep. Rick Lazio (R-NY), said the bill would help ensure the safety of millions of Americans who undergo radiologic exams each year, and ensure that the exams meet a high standard of care.
The CARE Act is designed to put teeth into the Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act of 1981, a law that set minimum standards for the education and credentialing of radiologic technologists. Because compliance is voluntary, however, only 35 states have enacted licensure laws, 28 states have licensed radiation therapists, and 21 states have licensed nuclear medicine technologists.
In states that have not enacted laws, personnel can often administer radiologic procedures after just a few hours of on-the-job training. Under the CARE bill, states that do not meet the minimum standards risk losing Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for radiologic procedures.
The American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) has led the call to create uniform minimum standards for technologists. The legislation is also supported by the American College of Radiology, the American Cancer Society, and the Alliance for Quality Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy, a coalition of 12 radiologic science organizations, including the Society of Nuclear Medicine, and the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT).
"We're very excited to see the introduction of the act," said Jerry Reid, ARRT's executive director. "The CARE Act is consistent with the mission of the ARRT -- that everyone who does radiation therapy be qualified -- and the CARE Act helps accomplish that goal."
The bill will modify standards slightly from the 1981 legislation, and require technologists to meet minimum standards that are similar to those required by the ARRT, according to Dr. Elwin Tilson, a professor of radiologic sciences at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA.
"It does not say that somebody has to be an ARRT technologist, but they have to essentially meet the same educational requirements as the ARRT requires. So it doesn't specifically say you've got to be a registered technologist, it just says you have to be a graduate of an accredited program," Tilson said.
According to Reid, "The ARRT standards deal with the certification end of it, and the joint review committees which participate -- as well in the Alliance (for Quality Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy) -- set up the educational standards."
Because the bill was introduced during the final two weeks of the current legislative session, there is no chance of passage this year, and supporters are still working to enlist sponsors for the Senate version of the bill. However, introducing the bill now could spur its passage during next year's session, according to Tilson. He said the chance of passing a law next year depends on a number of factors.
"It really depends on what's hot in Congress at the time.... Congress is getting bombarded with (patient safety) information, and so there's a movement to get all of these patient safety bills and herd them together" into a single bill, Tilson said. "If that happens, I think the chances of its passage are very good. As a freestanding bill, I don't know."
The text of the bill will soon be available on the Library of Congress Web site at http://thomas.loc.gov; the preliminary text is available now on the ASRT site. Information on state licensing laws can be found at www.clt.astate.edu/radsci/PLic.htm.
By Eric BarnesAuntMinnie.com staff writer
September 28, 2000
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